The Feast of Christ’s Reception as fulfillment of the ...

Theodore Rokas

The fresh feast, the Reception of the Lord, is the feast which is widely known exactly forty days after that of His Nativity. The identify of the feast in Greek comes from a verb meaning 'to exit and meet or welcome somebody' [Hence the depiction of Symeon in icons as being at or outside a door. WJL]. As regards the resolution of the celebration of the feast on 2 February, this become determined in the sixth century, on the time of Emperor Justinian. It become fixed on today because it is the fortieth after Christ's beginning, which, it had been decided within the 4th century, was to be celebrated on December 25.

We draw our information regarding the adventure of the Lord's Reception from the Gospel in line with Saint Luke. in the narrative in chapter 2 of this Gospel, the Evangelist mentions two fundamental details: a) the circumcision of Jesus Christ exactly eight days after His beginning (Luke 2, 21); and b) the entry of the divine infant into the temple in Jerusalem 40 days after His birth, as required by way of the ritual contained within the Mosaic legislation (Luke 2, 22-39).

What Saint Luke relates in his Gospel don't seem to be random events, nor do they take location at the own behest of some individual, but rather they occur in keeping with a certain ritual, which is described peculiarly within the booklet of Leviticus, the third in the collection of the old books of the historical testament.

in response to Leviticus, a lady who became pregnant and gave delivery to a male child could be unclean unless the eighth day after the beginning, the day on which the circumcision would take location. She would then stay unclean except the fortieth day after giving delivery, when she could be cleansed of her blood. until then, she was forbidden to the touch anything sacred or to enter the temple earlier than the time of her cleaning had passed. If a girl gave birth to a daughter, however, the variety of days for her purification numbered eighty (Lev. 12, 1-5). On the one hand, this excerpt from Leviticus ordains what the girl is to examine all the way through the length of her lying-in and, on the other, makes clear that, besides the fact that children harsh the law became towards her, it additionally included her from ailment and made her leisure, with a view to improve from the pains of start.

Thereafter Leviticus mentions the ceremonies which take region all the way through the purification. It on condition that, as quickly because the proper number of days had been achieved, the requisite animals without blemish may still be brought to be sacrificed to the Lord and to purify the woman (Lev. 12, 6-8). regardless of what many and dissimilar individuals notion, these sacrifices had completely no magical which means. Their intention was the restoration of family members between the woman and God, as regards [her ability to enter] the sacred place.

Naturally, this ceremony could hardly ever be divorced from the total of the relaxation of the law of the old testomony. On the contrary, it's indissolubly linked to the Lord's command involving the offering of the primary-born within the narrative of the book of Exodus. This e-book items God as giving the commandment to Moses that every Israelite should still commit to God each male first-born, man or beast (Ex. 13, 1-2).

This dedication demanded through God was required as an illustration of gratitude and consciousness on the a part of the Israelite americans against God, Who redeemed His americans from slavery in Egypt. It was also a reminder of the time when the angel of loss of life omitted the first-born little ones of the Israelites but destroyed those of the Egyptians. involving the offering of the primary-born animals, the law of Moses is obvious and makes a distinction between clear and unclean species. the first-born of donkeys are not correct for sacrifice, so that they were replaced with an agreed sum of money. The equal monetary change became also genuine for americans, given that God did not settle for human sacrifice. Cyril of Alexandria notes that 'He Who created all issues in incorruption, had no want for human sacrifice'. this is why, in the thirteenth chapter of the booklet of Exodus, where the sacrifice of the first-born is discussed, here is outlined: 'You shal l set apart every [offspring] opening the womb, the males, to the Lord. each one that opens the womb out of the herds or amongst your cattle, as many as can be born to you, you shall sanctify the males to the Lord. every [offspring] opening the womb of the ass you shall change for a sheep; and in case you will not change it, you shall redeem it. You shall redeem each first-born of one of your sons'. (Ex.13, 12-13).

So the divine baby turned into also provided to God, because the first-born son of the Virgin, as had others in the past of the Israelite americans. The decide and prophet, Samuel, Jacob and different personalities in the old testomony had opened the sterile and barren wombs of holy ladies and the fruits thereof had been offered to the Lord and were additionally declared to be 'holy on account of the Lord'.

supply: pemptousia.com

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